In manufacturing processes requiring high levels of cleanliness, it becomes necessary to clean and dry the robotic devices used to handle products undergoing manufacture. One context in which this is extremely important is during the manufacture of semiconductor wafers. For example, during wet processing of wafer substrates robotic end effectors carry the substrates between chemical processing steps, rinse steps, and or drying steps. Between certain of these steps it is important to clean the end effectors so that substances that adhere to the end effectors during wafer transport are not transferred back onto the wafers when the wafers are subsequently retrieved by the same end effectors. For example, droplets or films of chemical solution are likely to be deposited onto an end effector used to transport a wafer away from a chemical process chamber and into a rinsing chamber. It will be important to remove these deposits from the end effector before the end effector retrieves the wafers from the rinsing chamber for transport to a drying chamberxe2x80x94so that the deposits are not transferred back onto the wafer. In other contexts, periodic washing and drying of end effectors may be important towards minimizing particle contamination of the end effectors and wafers.
It is desirable to provide a cleaning/drying tool for process end effectors that minimizes process time, process fluid (e.g. cleaning/drying fluids and/or gases) consumption, and footprint size.
A method for exposing an object to fluid using principles of the present invention includes the steps of introducing the object into a flow passage and directing a high velocity stream onto a coanda profile that surrounds the object. This causes a cylindrical amplified flow to surround the object and move axially through the passage. An apparatus for exposing an object to fluid utilizing principles of the present invention includes a chamber having an enclosed coanda profile and a fluid inlet coupled to the passage. The passage is proportioned to receive an object to be treated. In one embodiment of the method and apparatus, nozzles for focusing an additional fluid onto the object may be positioned within the chamber, and a fluid may be directed from the nozzles onto the object to clean the object before the object is dried using the amplified flow induced in the chamber.